Union Major General Philip Kearny was killed September 2, 1862 in Chantilly, Virginia. The Battle of Chantilly came after the Unionists’ disastrous defeat at the Second Bull Run, just days before Lee’s invasion of Maryland.
Chantilly is only eight miles from the scene of the Second Battle of Bull Run. After that battle, Robert E. Lee tried to have Stonewall Jackson get behind the Union forces at Centreville, Virginia. Kearney was a division commander in John Pope’s Union Army of Virginia. At Chantilly, where the Union forces were outnumbered by three-to-one, Kearny was conducting a reconnaissance when he was shot by a Confederate.
Kearny’s father was a wealthy man of Irish stock who had married the daughter of Congressman John Watts. Both of Philip’s parents died when he was young and his grandfather took over his upbringing. Philip Kearny wanted to go to West Point, but his grandfather pushed him into law and he attended Columbia College. When he was in his early 20s, John Watts died and left him a fortune of $1 million dollars, more than $25 million in today’s money. After he came into his fortune, Kearny joined the army as a second lieutenant in 1837. He was sent to France to study cavalry tactics and he participated in combat with French cavalry units in North Africa.
Kearny had lived much of his youth in a family mansion near Newark, New Jersey along the banks of the Passaic River, but he spent much of his military career away from New Jersey. In the 1840s, Kearny became the aide-de-camp to General Winfield Scott. He briefly resigned from the army in 1846, but returned a month later when war with Mexico broke out and he was promoted to captain. During the war, he was recognized for bravery, and he lost his left arm while leading a charge. While he did return to the army after having his arm amputated, he left military service in 1851. At the same time, his marriage was falling apart.
After leaving the army, Kearny met a woman, Agnes Maxwell, whom he courted. The two left New York and moved to an estate on the banks of the Passaic River across from Newark called Bellegrove. In 1858, Kearny divorced his first wife and married Maxwell.
In 1859, Kearny returned to France where he served with the French Army again and his bravery in battle was recognized with the Légion d’honneur, the first American to be awarded that honor. He did not return to the United States until the Civil War broke out. Kearney was placed in command of the First New Jersey Brigade and made a brigadier general. In 1862 he became a division commander.
The Kearney statue in Military Park in Newark is one of three copies of the statue. One is in Statuary Hall in the United States Capitol and the the third is in Muskegon, Michigan. The original was constructed in 1873 by Henry Kirke Brown. The sculptor did several well-known sculptures of Civil War figures, including New York’s Union Square “Lincoln” and the Winfield Scott Circle statue in Washington.
In the statue, Kearny has his jacket over his left arm, hiding the missing arm.
The Newark statue was originally presented to New Jersey’s Capitol in Trenton, but it was later moved to Military Park in Newark.
At the 1880 dedication in Newark, a large crowd came to see it. Generals Grant, Sherman, and McClellan were featured participants.
Military Park had been a training ground for Civil War soldiers. A recruiting station was also there. Today, there are several sculptures at the site including a Gutzon Borglum sculpture “Wars of America.” The park is a good place to visit. I went there on a weekend and found metered parking right on the street. An underground parking garage is underneath the park at 633 Broad St., but its price is fairly expensive for Jersey parking. The park is set in a fashionable neighborhood, with many trees and a carousel.
I visited using my car and afterward I drove five minutes to the Ironbound Section where you can feast on the neighborhood’s Portugues, Spanish, and Brazilian foods.
All color photos were taken by Pat Young. To see more sites Pat visited CLICK HERE for Google Earth view.
Here is the New York Times coverage of the dedication of the statue:
